March 1, 2018

Soybean Production in Uruguay also impacted by Dry Weather

Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.

The dry weather in Argentina which has received most of the attention of the commodity markets and the media, has also impacted the crops in neighboring Uruguay as well. Uruguay is a very small soybean producer compared to its giant neighbors of Brazil, Argentina, and even Paraguay, but soybean production has been increasing in Uruguay in recent years.

According to the director of Fadisol, which is a seed supplier and gain merchant in Uruguay, all the crops in the country have been impacted by the dry weather, it's just a matter of degree. He feels that the soybean production in Uruguay could be down as much as one million tons from initial expectations. The latest estimate from the USDA indicated that the 2017/18 soybean production in Uruguay would be 2.5 million tons compared to last year when the country produced 3.2 million tons of soybeans.

Soybeans are produced in two main regions of Uruguay. One region is in the northern part of the country along the border with Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul and the other region is in the western part of the country across the Uruguay River from the eastern Argentine province of Entre Rios.

The soybeans produced in northern Uruguay are generally exported out of the Port of Rio Grande in southern Brazil while the soybeans produced in western Uruguay are generally exported out of ports on the Uruguay River and Parana River.